Tag: George Washington

Fuck George Washington and America for asking me to celebrate his birth. I do not apologize for my language nor the attack on my own country, for it attacked me first. Annually I am asked to pretend Washington is worthy of honor and each year I am insulted that the country has the testicular fortitude to make such an outlandish request. Am I to pretend Washington is not a phony, fake patriot and fraud? Should I simply act as if the man did not subject people to the terror of slavery? Am I supposed to ignore the fact that he not only pursued escaped slaves until his death but that he also used the power of government to fortify slavery? I will celebrate him when America asks the Jewish people to celebrate the good things the Nazi Party did.

Washington was no patriot. He was an opportunistic phony who withdrew his loyalty from England after the Crown began interfering with his money. Washington and other elites like Jefferson, Franklin and Patrick Henry, were heavily invested in lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. They were land speculators, essentially. After France withdrew from North America in 1763 the “Founding Fathers” hoped to cash in by selling or leasing western lands. Instead, the Crown decided that year to issue a Proclamation, effectively halting westward expansion into “Indian” territories. All land deals would now have to go through London– cutting land speculators out of the process — and from that point forward Washington and his friends decided they did not love the Crown so much. Washington then opposed the Stamp Act in 1765, the Townshend Acts of 1767 and in 1769, went as far as to help spearhead a boycott of British goods. He was mad. The fake patriot opposed the Crown at every turn, not for love of liberty but money.

Washington was an immoral man and despicable human being. While convenient to ignore, he terrorized people and held them captive from the time he inherited his first slaves at the age of 11 until his death. Washington used the brutal practices of owning people, separating families and subjecting them to all manner of terror to maintain his wealth. Washington was committed to his moral bankruptcy. After moving to Philadelphia– free territory at the time– he made sure to rotate his slaves back to Virginia regularly. This was done specifically to circumvent a state law stipulating that any slave living in the state more than six months would automatically be free. Washington also made sure to sign the nation’s first fugitive slave law, guaranteeing that any enslaved person who dared escape would have the weight of the United States government against them. Further, when a 22-year-old slave by the name of Ona Judge escaped from Washington’s home in Philadelphia, the first President of the United States relentlessly pursued her until his death. The man was committed.

There is no honor in Washington, nor any deed that would cause me to ignore his true character (or lack thereof.) While I find him loathsome, I am more troubled that my country would ask me to celebrate him. I descend from slaves and the nation asks me to overlook the terror he subjected my people to and celebrate him? Can anyone honestly fathom asking Jewish people to celebrate the social welfare programs that the Nazi Party administered or the Party’s role in helping Germany bounce back from economic depression? Would anyone take seriously the notion that we should celebrate the great and handsome actor that John Wilkes Booth was and simply overlook that he assassinated President Lincoln? If you answer no to both questions yet consider Washington’s birthday a legitimate celebration, you are saying that his deeds were not so bad. If you concede his deeds were bad but still wish to celebrate you are all the more dangerous: you know but just don’t care.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the National Anthem on Friday, protesting the treatment of blacks and other minorities in America. The quarterback said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He went on to say that, “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” If you agree with the American Revolution, you must agree with Colin Kaepernick. If you believe Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry and George Washington were justified in their protests, you must also concede that their grievances are minor compared to those Kaepernick is highlighting. Colon Kaepernick just completely shitted on the American Revolution.

About me

I hate oppression and injustice. I believe women are the crown of all creation. I'm a dork who loves history and listens to lectures for fun. Seriously. Hopewell Thought is simply that: what Hopewell (me) is thinking